System, method, and computer program product for service and application configuration in a network device

ABSTRACT

A method is provided that includes accessing information associated with at least one service or application in a social network. The method also includes detecting at least one event relating to the information associated with the at least one service or application within the social network and modifying the information associated with the at least one service or application in response to the at least one event.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/739,999 filed on Apr. 25, 2007, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to social networkcommunication technology and, more particularly, relate to a system,method, and computer program product for configuring services andapplications in a social network.

BACKGROUND

The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansionof wireline and wireless networks. Computer networks, televisionnetworks, and telephony networks are experiencing an unprecedentedtechnological expansion, fueled by consumer demand. Wireless and mobilenetworking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, whileproviding more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.

Current and future networking technologies continue to facilitate easeof information transfer and convenience to users. One area in whichthere is a demand to increase the ease of information transfer andconvenience to users relates to provision of information sharing in P2Pnetworks. A P2P network is generally considered a network that reliesprimarily on the computing power and bandwidth of the devices (i.e.,peers) within the network. Accordingly, P2P networks generally do notconcentrate computing power and bandwidth within servers. Rather each ofthe peer devices is capable of simultaneously functioning as both aclient and a server to other nodes of the P2P network. The architectureof P2P networks typically involves connecting nodes via largely ad hocconnections over which participant nodes can, for example, share contentfiles containing audio, video, data, or virtually anything in a digitalformat. Accordingly, data such as real time data or telephony trafficcould be shared using a P2P network.

Given the ubiquitous nature of mobile terminals, such as mobile phonesand numerous other mobile electronic devices, P2P networks are becomingmore common for sharing content and services between individuals ofsocial groups or social networks. These social networks may center on agroup of friends, relatives, co-workers, business associates, or peoplewho share a common interest. Each individual (i.e., node) within asocial network may invite other individuals to join. As such, althoughany particular node may generally communicate with a given group ofother nodes within the social network, each of the other nodes maysubsequently communicate with yet other nodes. Accordingly, within asocial network, each node may be defined in terms of a degree ofseparation from each other node. For example, if user A invites user Bto view a particular file on user A's device, and user B subsequentlyinvites user C to view the particular file, user B may be considered tohave one degree of separation from user A, while user C may beconsidered to have two degrees of separation from user A. Accordingly,some originating nodes may place limits on the degree of separation anode may have from the originating device in order to gain access to thecontent.

Current session initiation between social network members generallyrequires manual work by each user (e.g., group creation, devicescanning, pairing, connection approvals, etc.). In addition, use of anyInternet-based service hosted by a member for social networking usecases requires the other members of the social network to manuallyconfigure the access levels in order to gain access to the particularservice. If the members wish to benefit from all services provided bythe social networks at different access levels (e.g., degree ofseparation (2^(nd), 3^(rd), 4^(th) etc. level of members)), the amountof manual configuration needed increases.

The introduction of applications for mobile devices requiresconfiguration of settings and parameters in order for the applicationsto operate properly on the mobile devices. Currently, operators andservice providers offer various types of device management services tomanage device settings remotely by using SMS provisioning. In addition,mobile device manufacturers are introducing systems that enable remoteaccess to mobile device settings by establishing a real-time connectionbetween the mobile device and help desk operators over aGPRS/EDGE/WCDMA-connection. In many cases these services are notsufficient when the user of the mobile device faces malfunction in thedevice management system or is not technically skilled to configure theapplications. Thus, when the malfunction in introducing an applicationoccurs and when a current device management system can't assist theuser, the user may be required to locate the nearest operator's shop orotherwise request assistance from a friend.

In the mobile domain, social network members typically utilize severalseparated applications like phone, email, SMS, MMS, instant messaging,push-to-talk, file sharing and location sharing to communicate orperform different tasks. Currently, each mobile user may be required tomanually configure all necessary applications in his/her device. Thismeans in practice that the user defines application settings and, forexample, creates groups, mail lists, or macros that ease the daily usageof the applications. Another possibility is to utilize a centralizeddevice management system, but this system is rarely available forordinary users. Since social networks typically change often and in manycases are short-lived (e.g., ad hoc groups), manual configuration of theuser's device in order to use particular applications can be timeconsuming and tedious for the user.

Therefore, it may be desirable to provide a method of automaticallyconfiguring services within a social network. In addition, it may beadvantageous to provide a method for automatically configuringapplications on a user's mobile terminal for particular applications theuser desires to use within a social network. Furthermore, it may bedesirable to provide a method for allowing a member of a social networkto remotely access another member's mobile terminal for facilitatingconfiguration of applications on the mobile terminal.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention address at least some of the above needsand achieve other advantages by providing a method, a system, and acomputer program product for configuring services and applicationswithin a social network. In general, embodiments of the inventioninclude techniques for automatically configuring information associatedwith applications (e.g., configuration and settings) at one or moremobile terminals within a social network, as well as automaticallyconfiguring information associated with services (e.g., user accountsand rights) available to members within the social network. Anadditional embodiment of the present invention provides techniques forallowing one or more mobile terminals to access a mobile terminal withina social network requesting assistance with configuring one or moreapplications. Thus, embodiments of the present invention may provide fora more user-friendly experience for members accessing services within asocial network. In addition, embodiments of the present invention maymore efficiently manage a member's access rights and membershipinformation, as well as facilitate the configuration of a member'smobile terminal and applications for reducing the amount of manualconfiguration required by members of the social network.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a method, system, andcomputer program product for configuring services or applications withina social network are provided. For example, the method includesaccessing information associated with at least one service or at leastone application in a social network. In addition, the method includesdetecting at least one event relating to the information associated withthe at least one service or application within the social network andmodifying the information associated with the at least one service orapplication in response to the at least one event.

Aspects of the method include searching for configuration informationassociated with the at least one application within the social networkand collecting configuration information associated with the at leastone application. The method may include modifying the collectedconfiguration information in response to an event within the socialnetwork. Furthermore, the method may include determining configurationinformation that is required for the at least one application and/orstoring the collected configuration information for the at least oneapplication in a configuration repository. The method could also includeparsing at least a portion of the collected configuration informationand configuring the at least one application using the parsedconfiguration information.

Additional aspects of the method may include defining a degree ofseparation between members within the social network required to obtainaccess to the at least one service provided by a service provider andsubmitting one or more requests to the service provider to create,delete, and/or update access rights based on the degree of separation.The method may also include submitting a request to create an account toa service provider when the social network is formed. The method couldalso include creating a configuration repository when the social networkis formed.

Additional variations of the method include detecting when a memberand/or a service is added to the social network. The method may includesubmitting a request to a service provider to create an account orupdate access rights to the at least one service when the member and/orservice is added to the social network. The method may include updatinga configuration repository containing configuration informationassociated with the at least one application in the social network whenthe member and/or service is added to the social network. Moreover, themethod may include detecting when a member and/or a service is removedfrom the social network. The method may include submitting a request toa service provider to delete an account or update access rights of themember when the member and/or service is removed from the socialnetwork. The method may also include updating a configuration repositorycontaining configuration information associated with the at least oneapplication in the social network when the member and/or service isremoved from the social network.

An additional embodiment of the prevent invention provides a method forremotely configuring one or more applications in a social network. Inparticular, the method includes receiving a request from a firstcomputing device at one or more other computing devices in a socialnetwork for assistance with configuring one or more applications at thefirst computing device. The method also includes allowing the one ormore other computing devices to remotely access the first computingdevice such that the one or more other computing devices are capable ofconfiguring the one or more applications at the first computing device.

Aspects of the method include remotely accessing the first computingdevice with the at least one other computing device by establishing aremote data connection between the computing devices. The method mayinclude determining access rights of the at least one other computingdevice prior to allowing remote access to the first computing device. Inaddition, the method may include allowing the at least one othercomputing device to configure the first computing device when the atleast one other computing device has access rights.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of a wireless communications systemaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a system for configuring services within a socialnetwork according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart according to an exemplary method for configuringservices within a social network according to one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a system for configuring applications within a socialnetwork according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart according to an exemplary method for configuringapplications within a social network according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a system for remotely configuring a mobile terminalaccording to an exemplary embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart according to an exemplary method for remotelyconfiguring a mobile terminal according to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, embodimentsof the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfyapplicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to likeelements throughout.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a mobile terminal 10 that wouldbenefit from embodiments of the present invention. It should beunderstood, however, that a mobile telephone as illustrated andhereinafter described is merely illustrative of one type of mobileterminal that would benefit from embodiments of the present inventionand, therefore, should not be taken to limit the scope of embodiments ofthe present invention. While several embodiments of the mobile terminal10 are illustrated and will be hereinafter described for purposes ofexample, other types of mobile terminals, such as portable digitalassistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile televisions, gaming devices, laptopcomputers, cameras, video recorders, GPS devices and other types ofvoice and text communications systems, can readily employ embodiments ofthe present invention. Furthermore, devices that are not mobile may alsoreadily employ embodiments of the present invention.

The system and method of embodiments of the present invention will beprimarily described below in conjunction with mobile communicationsapplications. However, it should be understood that the system andmethod of embodiments of the present invention can be utilized inconjunction with a variety of other applications, both in the mobilecommunications industries and outside of the mobile communicationsindustries.

The mobile terminal 10 includes an antenna 12 (or multiple antennae) inoperable communication with a transmitter 14 and a receiver 16. Themobile terminal 10 further includes a controller 20 or other processingelement that provides signals to and receives signals from thetransmitter 14 and receiver 16, respectively. The signals includesignaling information in accordance with the air interface standard ofthe applicable cellular system, and also user speech and/or usergenerated data. In this regard, the mobile terminal 10 is capable ofoperating with one or more air interface standards, communicationprotocols, modulation types, and access types. By way of illustration,the mobile terminal 10 is capable of operating in accordance with any ofa number of first, second and/or third-generation communicationprotocols or the like. For example, the mobile terminal 10 may becapable of operating in accordance with second-generation (2G) wirelesscommunication protocols IS-136 (TDMA), GSM, and IS-95 (CDMA), or withthird-generation (3G) wireless communication protocols, such as UMTS,CDMA2000, and TD-SCDMA.

It is understood that the controller 20 includes circuitry required forimplementing audio and logic functions of the mobile terminal 10. Forexample, the controller 20 may be comprised of a digital signalprocessor device, a microprocessor device, and various analog to digitalconverters, digital to analog converters, and other support circuits.Control and signal processing functions of the mobile terminal 10 areallocated between these devices according to their respectivecapabilities. The controller 20 thus may also include the functionalityto convolutionally encode and interleave message and data prior tomodulation and transmission. The controller 20 can additionally includean internal voice coder, and may include an internal data modem.Further, the controller 20 may include functionality to operate one ormore software programs, which may be stored in memory. For example, thecontroller 20 may be capable of operating a connectivity program, suchas a conventional Web browser. The connectivity program may then allowthe mobile terminal 10 to transmit and receive Web content, such aslocation-based content, according to a Wireless Application Protocol(WAP), for example.

The mobile terminal 10 also comprises a user interface including anoutput device such as a conventional earphone or speaker 24, a ringer22, a microphone 26, a display 28, and a user input interface, all ofwhich are coupled to the controller 20. The user input interface, whichallows the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, may include any of anumber of devices allowing the mobile terminal 10 to receive data, suchas a keypad 30, a touch display (not shown) or other input device. Inembodiments including the keypad 30, the keypad 30 may include theconventional numeric (0-9) and related keys (#, *), and other keys usedfor operating the mobile terminal 10. Alternatively, the keypad 30 mayinclude a conventional QWERTY keypad arrangement. The keypad 30 may alsoinclude various soft keys with associated functions. In addition, oralternatively, the mobile terminal 10 may include an interface devicesuch as a joystick or other user input interface. The mobile terminal 10further includes a battery 34, such as a vibrating battery pack, forpowering various circuits that are required to operate the mobileterminal 10, as well as optionally providing mechanical vibration as adetectable output.

The mobile terminal 10 may further include a universal identity module(UIM) 38. The UIM 38 is typically a memory device having a processorbuilt in. The UIM 38 may include, for example, a subscriber identitymodule (SIM), a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), a universalsubscriber identity module (USIM), a removable user identity module(R-UIM), etc. The UIM 38 typically stores information elements relatedto a mobile subscriber. In addition to the UIM 38, the mobile terminal10 may be equipped with memory. For example, the mobile terminal 10 mayinclude volatile memory 40, such as volatile Random Access Memory (RAM)including a cache area for the temporary storage of data. The mobileterminal 10 may also include other non-volatile memory 42, which can beembedded and/or may be removable. The non-volatile memory 42 canadditionally or alternatively comprise an EEPROM, flash memory or thelike, such as that available from the SanDisk Corporation of Sunnyvale,Calif. or Lexar Media Inc. of Fremont, Calif. The memories can store anyof a number of pieces of information, and data, used by the mobileterminal 10 to implement the functions of the mobile terminal 10. Forexample, the memories can include an identifier, such as aninternational mobile equipment identification (IMEI) code, capable ofuniquely identifying the mobile terminal 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an illustration of one type of system thatwould benefit from embodiments of the present invention is provided. Thesystem includes a plurality of network devices. As shown, one or moremobile terminals 10 may each include an antenna 12 for transmittingsignals to and for receiving signals from a base site or base station(BS) 44. The base station 44 may be a part of one or more cellular ormobile networks each of which includes elements required to operate thenetwork, such as a mobile switching center (MSC) 46. As well known tothose skilled in the art, the mobile network may also be referred to asa Base Station/MSC/Interworking function (BMI). In operation, the MSC 46is capable of routing calls to and from the mobile terminal 10 when themobile terminal 10 is making and receiving calls. The MSC 46 can alsoprovide a connection to landline trunks when the mobile terminal 10 isinvolved in a call. In addition, the MSC 46 can be capable ofcontrolling the forwarding of messages to and from the mobile terminal10, and can also control the forwarding of messages for the mobileterminal 10 to and from a messaging center. It should be noted thatalthough the MSC 46 is shown in the system of FIG. 2, the MSC 46 ismerely an exemplary network device and embodiments of the presentinvention are not limited to use in a network employing an MSC.

The MSC 46 can be coupled to a data network, such as a local areanetwork (LAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), and/or a wide areanetwork (WAN). The MSC 46 can be directly coupled to the data network.In one typical embodiment, however, the MSC 46 is coupled to a GTW 48,and the GTW 48 is coupled to a WAN, such as the Internet 50. In turn,devices such as processing elements (e.g., personal computers, servercomputers or the like) can be coupled to the mobile terminal 10 via theInternet 50. For example, as explained below, the processing elementscan include one or more processing elements associated with a computingsystem 52 (two shown in FIG. 2), origin server 54 (one shown in FIG. 2)or the like, as described below.

The BS 44 can also be coupled to a signaling GPRS (General Packet RadioService) support node (SGSN) 56. As known to those skilled in the art,the SGSN 56 is typically capable of performing functions similar to theMSC 46 for packet switched services. The SGSN 56, like the MSC 46, canbe coupled to a data network, such as the Internet 50. The SGSN 56 canbe directly coupled to the data network. In a more typical embodiment,however, the SGSN 56 is coupled to a packet-switched core network, suchas a GPRS core network 58. The packet-switched core network is thencoupled to another GTW 48, such as a GTW GPRS support node (GGSN) 60,and the GGSN 60 is coupled to the Internet 50. In addition to the GGSN60, the packet-switched core network can also be coupled to a GTW 48.Also, the GGSN 60 can be coupled to a messaging center. In this regard,the GGSN 60 and the SGSN 56, like the MSC 46, may be capable ofcontrolling the forwarding of messages, such as MMS messages. The GGSN60 and SGSN 56 may also be capable of controlling the forwarding ofmessages for the mobile terminal 10 to and from the messaging center.

In addition, by coupling the SGSN 56 to the GPRS core network 58 and theGGSN 60, devices such as a computing system 52 and/or origin server 54may be coupled to the mobile terminal 10 via the Internet 50, SGSN 56and GGSN 60. In this regard, devices such as the computing system 52and/or origin server 54 may communicate with the mobile terminal 10across the SGSN 56, GPRS core network 58 and the GGSN 60. By directly orindirectly connecting mobile terminals 10 and the other devices (e.g.,computing system 52, origin server 54, etc.) to the Internet 50, themobile terminals 10 may communicate with the other devices and with oneanother, such as according to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), tothereby carry out various functions of the mobile terminals 10.

Although not every element of every possible mobile network is shown anddescribed herein, it should be appreciated that the mobile terminal 10may be coupled to one or more of any of a number of different networksthrough the BS 44. In this regard, the network(s) can be capable ofsupporting communication in accordance with any one or more of a numberof first-generation (1G), second-generation (2G), 2.5G and/orthird-generation (3G) mobile communication protocols or the like. Forexample, one or more of the network(s) can be capable of supportingcommunication in accordance with 2G wireless communication protocolsIS-136 (TDMA), GSM, and IS-95 (CDMA). Also, for example, one or more ofthe network(s) can be capable of supporting communication in accordancewith 2.5G wireless communication protocols GPRS, Enhanced Data GSMEnvironment (EDGE), or the like. Further, for example, one or more ofthe network(s) can be capable of supporting communication in accordancewith 3G wireless communication protocols such as a Universal MobileTelephone System (UMTS) network employing Wideband Code DivisionMultiple Access (WCDMA) radio access technology. Some narrow-band AMPS(VAMPS), as well as TACS, network(s) may also benefit from embodimentsof the present invention, as should dual or higher mode mobile stations(e.g., digital/analog or TDMA/CDMA/analog phones).

The mobile terminal 10 can further be coupled to one or more wirelessaccess points (APs) 62. The APs 62 may comprise access points configuredto communicate with the mobile terminal 10 in accordance with techniquessuch as, for example, radio frequency (RF), Bluetooth (BT), infrared(IrDA) or any of a number of different wireless networking techniques,including wireless LAN (WLAN) techniques such as IEEE 802.11 (e.g.,802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, etc.), WiMAX techniques such as IEEE802.16, and/or ultra wideband (UWB) techniques such as IEEE 802.15 orthe like. The APs 62 may be coupled to the Internet 50. Like with theMSC 46, the APs 62 can be directly coupled to the Internet 50. In oneembodiment, however, the APs 62 are indirectly coupled to the Internet50 via a GTW 48. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the BS 44 may beconsidered as another AP 62. As will be appreciated, by directly orindirectly connecting the mobile terminals 10 and the computing system52, the origin server 54, and/or any of a number of other devices, tothe Internet 50, the mobile terminals 10 can communicate with oneanother, the computing system, etc., to thereby carry out variousfunctions of the mobile terminals 10, such as to transmit data, contentor the like to, and/or receive content, data or the like from, thecomputing system 52. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,”“information” and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer todata capable of being transmitted, received and/or stored in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. Thus, use of any such termsshould not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

Although not shown in FIG. 2, in addition to or in lieu of coupling themobile terminal 10 to computing systems 52 across the Internet 50, themobile terminal 10 and computing system 52 may be coupled to one anotherand communicate in accordance with, for example, RF, BT, IrDA or any ofa number of different wireline or wireless communication techniques,including LAN, WLAN, WiMAX and/or UWB techniques. One or more of thecomputing systems 52 can additionally, or alternatively, include aremovable memory capable of storing content, which can thereafter betransferred to the mobile terminal 10. Further, the mobile terminal 10can be coupled to one or more electronic devices, such as printers,digital projectors and/or other multimedia capturing, producing and/orstoring devices (e.g., other terminals). Like with the computing systems52, the mobile terminal 10 may be configured to communicate with theportable electronic devices in accordance with techniques such as, forexample, RF, BT, IrDA or any of a number of different wireline orwireless communication techniques, including USB, LAN, WLAN, WiMAXand/or UWB techniques.

As described above, social networks may be formed via ad hoc connectionsbetween various nodes, which could be computing devices, such as mobileterminals, within a P2P social network, such as supported by the networkin FIG. 2. Such connections may then be utilized to, for example, shareaccess to content or services which could include video clips, text,audio data, photographs, etc. It should also be understood thataccessing content or services could refer to accessing resources of aparticular device. A common way to control access to content or serviceshas been to provide access control lists (ACLs), which inform aparticular device which permissions or access rights each user or grouphas to specific objects such as files or directories. The access controlmay be based on the identity of a corresponding user (e.g., username,user ID, etc) or the identity of a device (e.g., device name, mediaaccess control (MAC) address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, etc.). Byutilizing relationships in social networks, other ways of controllingaccess to content may be implemented.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the configuration ofservices and applications for a computing device, e.g., mobile terminal,within a social or P2P network. One embodiment of the present inventionfacilitates the automatic configuration of information associated withparticular services within a social network (e.g., a user's account andrights to the services). This particular embodiment may be employed toconfigure a user's accounts/rights to an Internet-based communityservice automatically based on the social networking membershipinformation. An additional embodiment of the present invention providestechniques for automatically configuring a user's mobile terminal forparticular applications the user desires to use within a social network.This embodiment may be utilized to automatically and dynamicallyconfigure a user's applications utilizing information extracted from asocial network (e.g., people in the network, their relationships,people's contact information, people's device information, and servicesin the network and service settings). Thus, embodiments of the presentinvention may provide for a more user-friendly experience for membersaccessing services within a social network. In addition, embodiments ofthe present invention may more efficiently manage a member's accessrights and membership information, as well as facilitate theconfiguration of a member's mobile terminal and applications forreducing the amount of manual configuration required by members of thesocial network.

In general, FIG. 3 depicts a system 70 for automatically configuringinformation associated with services within a social network, such as auser's account and rights to services within a social network, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention. Users of a social networkare configured to share one or more services between mobile terminals,wherein the services may be provided by a third party, such as anInternet-based service. In order to access particular services availableto members of the social network, users may provide membership oraccount information. For example, members of the social network mayprovide membership information that may be used to identify the memberand/or the member's access rights. Access levels are defined by the userwishing to share access to a particular service, as well as defined bythe service provider of the particular service. For example, a userwishing to share photographs with other users within a social networkwould include access rights for defining which users would have accessto the photographs. The service provider may also maintain its ownaccess rights for members of the social network. For example, anInternet-based service may maintain a name and password for a user of amobile terminal within the social network.

One computing device, such as a mobile terminal, within the socialnetwork may act as a master or gateway device. In this regard, membersof the social network that have access rights to a particular servicemay access the service via the master mobile terminal. As such, membersmay connect to the service through the master mobile terminal such thatno changes would be required at the server providing the service sincethe connection is made directly from the master mobile terminal. Themaster mobile terminal could submit configuration requests to theservice provider such that the service provider supplies a response oroutput to the mobile terminal of the requesting user. Alternatively, themaster mobile terminal could “hand over” the connection to requestingmembers of the social network such that the connection would be madebetween the requesting members and the server providing the service. Inthis case, the server and service provider would be configured toreceive requests from users other than the user of the master mobileterminal for access to a service, as well as update membership andaccess rights to the service. According to one aspect of the presentinvention, the authentication may be performed by one node and theconnection may then be transferred to another node. For example, theauthenticating user could give a one-time password token to the serverand to the user accessing the service. Both the user accessing theservice and the server have the same token such that the authorizationof the user can be verified when the connection between the user andserver is established.

The system 70 generally includes a social network host 72 and automaticconfiguration mechanism 73. The automatic configuration mechanism 73includes an account/access rights mechanism 74 and a degree ofmembership/access rights mechanism 76. The automatic configurationmechanism and, in turn, the account/access rights mechanism 74 anddegree of membership/access rights mechanism 76 may reside on acomputing device, such as a mobile terminal and, in one embodiment, areembodied by various means that may be implemented in software stored inmemory and executed by the controller 20, while the social network host72 may be embodied by a server in communication with each of the membersof the social network. The host 72 stores membership information, suchas membership information for a list of users within a particular socialnetwork. In addition, the host 72 defines and maintains degree ofmembership or separation (d) information, wherein the value of d is thedegree of the separation that is calculated based on the user's mobileterminal acting as the social network host.

The account/access rights mechanism 74 is employed to automaticallycreate, delete, and update user accounts and access rights forservice(s) based on the social network membership information. Forinstance, when a social network is formed, the account/access rightsmechanism 74 may send the request(s) to form an account to the serviceprovider and grant specific access to all the members of the socialnetwork. In addition, when a member is added to the social network, theaccount/access rights mechanism 74 may send a request to the serviceprovider to either create an account for the new member or update theaccess control lists to allow that user to access specific data. When amember is removed from the membership list, the account/access rightsmechanism 74 may send a request to delete either the account or accessrights of that user from the service provider. Thus, the account/accessrights mechanism 74 is configured to automatically detect when changeshave been made regarding information associated with services providedwithin the social network.

The degree of membership/access rights mechanism 76 manages the degreesof membership or separation between members in a social network and maycreate, delete, and update access rights to a service based on degreesof separation information. The degree of membership/access rightsmechanism 76 may be a single mechanism or separate mechanisms formanaging the degrees of separation and creating, deleting, and updatingaccess rights. The degree of membership/access rights mechanism 76 maymanage access rights based on the degree of separation between membersin the social network. For example, “core” social network members (e.g.,d=1 or one degree of separation; i.e., members who founded the socialnetwork) may have the widest access rights, while members of the socialnetwork having d>1 (e.g., friends or co-members in other social networkshaving greater than one degree of separation) could have more limitedaccess rights. The account/access rights mechanism 74 may send requeststo a service provider so that the service provider may create, delete,and update its own access rights based on the degree of membershipinformation. In this case, the service provider is configured to receivethe degree of separation information and properly handle a user'sassociated access rights. For example, Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)technology could be employed at the service provider to maintain acontrol list of all access rights. Alternatively, one user could be anadministrator for other users in order to assist the service provider inmanaging access rights.

For further discussion of determining a degree of separation betweenmembers of a social network and accessing and providing services withina social network, Applicants hereby incorporate by reference U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/539,454 entitled SYSTEM, METHOD, APPARATUS, ANDCOMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR PROVIDING A SOCIAL NETWORK DIAGRAM IN A P2PNETWORK DEVICE filed Oct. 6, 2006, which is assigned to the presentassignee, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/615,287, entitledSYSTEM, METHOD, APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR DISCOVERINGSERVICES IN A NETWORK DEVICE, filed Dec. 22, 2006, which is assigned tothe present assignee.

Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a flowchart for a method forconfiguring services (e.g., membership and access rights information)within a social network according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. When a social network is formed, a request may be provided toform an account with a service provider for one or more services and togrant access to the services to the members of the social network (block80). The account/access rights mechanism 74 may access the socialnetwork and detect various events that occur within the social network(block 82), such as when a member is added or removed from the socialnetwork. The account/access rights mechanism 74 may then modify theaccount and/or access rights to the one or more services, such as bycreating an account for the new member, updating a current account, ordeleting the account or access rights (block 84). In addition, theaccount/access rights mechanism 74 may also update the access rights tothe one or more services or request the service provider to updateaccess rights based on changes in the degree of separation between themembers within the social network, wherein the changes could be detectedby the degree of membership/access rights mechanism 76 and conveyed tothe account/access rights mechanism.

FIG. 5 illustrates a system 110 according to one embodiment forautomatically configuring applications on a user's mobile terminal thatthe user desires to use within a social network. For example, if theuser wishes to use a push-to-talk application in order to communicatewith friends, the user can select a friend's group in the push-to-talkapplication and talk to them. Alternatively, the user can select afriend's group in the social network application and then selectpush-to-talk functionality. Due to the automatic configuration of theapplication, the user may not have to manually define settings andcreate a group for friends to use the push-to-talk application. Inaddition, when new friends of the user join the group, the group andsettings may be dynamically updated to reflect the user's socialnetwork. Other examples of configurable applications could be emaillists, chat rooms, and bullet boards.

The system 110 includes a social network host 112 in communication withan automatic configuration mechanism 113. The automatic configurationmechanism 113 may reside on a computing device, such as a mobileterminal 10 and, in one embodiment, is embodied by various means thatmay be implemented in software stored in memory and executed by thecontroller 20. The automatic configuration mechanism 113 includes asearch/collect mechanism 114, a configuration mechanism 116, and aconfiguration repository 118. Generally, each mobile terminal 10includes software for instructing the automatic mechanism 113 todetermine configuration information that is needed for particularapplications and what information can be extracted from the socialnetwork for facilitating such configuration. As explained in furtherdetail below, the configuration data may be stored and updated whenchanges occur within the social network.

The search/collect mechanism 114 is employed to automatically search andcollect useful configuration information from the social network andstore the information within a configuration repository 118. Forinstance, the configuration information may be associated with specificapplications on the user's mobile terminal 10, or applications that theuser is requesting to use within the social network. Thus, a user thatjoins a group would be able to obtain configuration information for eachof the applications available to the users within the social network. Inaddition, when a social network is formed, the automatic mechanism maycreate a configuration data repository 118 for storing all collectedinformation. When the social network is updated (e.g., a member or aservice is added or removed from the network), the search/collectmechanism 114 may update the configuration repository 118 accordingly.Similarly, when the software for a particular application changes, thesearch/collect mechanism 114 may determine that this change hasoccurred, as well as collect any new or different configurationinformation for the application to be updated in the configurationrepository 118.

The configuration mechanism 116 is utilized to manage the configurationof applications when there are changes in the configuration repository118. The configuration mechanism 116 is capable of determining whatconfiguration data is needed for each application, as well as parsingsettings from the configuration data repository and configuring theapplications on the user's mobile terminal. In addition, theconfiguration mechanism 116 is also capable of creating groups, emaillists, etc. or other tasks typically performed by the application inorder to reduce the usage of the application.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart for a method for automaticallyconfiguring applications within a social network according to oneembodiment of the present invention. In this regard, the method includescreating a configuration data repository when a social network is formed(block 122). The search/collect mechanism 114 could create theconfiguration repository 118. The configuration repository 118 maycontain various configuration information associated with one or moreapplications within the social network. Configuration informationassociated with one or more applications within the social network mayalso be searched and collected (block 122) in order to populate theconfiguration repository 118 with configuration information. If an eventoccurs within the social network (block 124), the currently storedconfiguration information within the configuration repository 118 may bemodified if necessary (block 126). For example, the search/collectmechanism 114 could update the configuration repository 118 when amember is added or removed from the social network. In addition, anevent could occur when configuration information changes within theconfiguration repository. Configuration information within theconfiguration repository 118 may then be accessed or parsed so that oneor more applications may be configured (block 128).

Furthermore, another embodiment of the present invention allows membersof a social network to remotely access another member's mobile terminalfor facilitating configuration of the mobile terminal. In particular,this embodiment may be employed to establish a remote data connectionbetween social network members and obtain remote access to other mobiledevices to configure required or requested applications.

FIG. 7 illustrates an embodiment for allowing members of a socialnetwork to remotely access another member's mobile terminal forfacilitating configuration of the mobile terminal. In particular, thisembodiment enables social network members to remotely guide and helpother users with an introduction and/or use of an application. Thesocial network provides trusted and authenticated “helping-hands” toassist individuals in various problematic situations, which allows forremote configuration access from other mobile terminals over anyconnection bearer. For instance, if a user (e.g., grandmother) is havinga problem with her MMS settings on a mobile terminal, the user may makean open request to solve the problem within the user's social networks(e.g., family). A social network member (e.g., grandson) may assist theuser having the problem by remotely accessing the user's mobile terminaland configuring problematic MMS-settings over-the-air from his or herown mobile terminal. The remote access between mobile terminals within asocial network may be established using various data connections, suchas over GPRS/EDGE/3G-data connection, although a connection capable oftransmitting data between mobile terminals may be employed.

FIG. 7 depicts a system 90 including a social network host 92 and anautomatic configuration mechanism 93. The automatic configurationmechanism 93 may reside on a computing device, such as mobile terminal10, and in one embodiment, is embodied by various means that may beimplemented in software stored in memory and executed by the controller20. The automatic configuration mechanism 93 includes an account/accessrights mechanism 94 and a degree of membership/access rights mechanism96. The social network host 92 and the degree of membership/accessrights mechanism 96 include similar functionality as that describedabove with respect to FIG. 3. In addition, the system 90 includes aremote control mechanism 98 for proving remote control of a mobileterminal and access to other mobile terminals within a social network.The system also includes a device management client 100 for checkingaccess rights of members seeking to access the requesting mobileterminal. Each of the remote control mechanism 98 and device managementclient 100 may also reside on a computing device, such as a mobileterminal.

The account/access rights mechanism 94 is utilized to create, delete,and update user accounts and access rights in the related remote devicemanagement connection based on the social network membershipinformation. In particular, when a social network is formed, a user maypublish and send a request regarding an emerging problem with settingsor configuration to authorized social network members. When a socialnetwork member is remotely accessing another member's mobile terminal,the device management client 100 may check the access level of othermember's mobile terminals to verify a device management rights levelfrom social network membership information. According to one aspect ofthe present invention, there may be a system for pre-setting trusteddevices or persons whose authentication information may then be used forgranting the access rights. Another implementation could be using aspecific device management ticket as access control. Yet anotherexemplary technique may be a manual acceptance when a member requestsaccess to the terminal.

The remote control mechanism 98 provides remote mobile terminal controland write-level access to other mobile terminals. For example, theremote control mechanism 98 may establish an ad-hoc type of connectionbetween two mobile terminals which are members in the same socialnetwork. The remote control mechanism 98 could also provide remoteaccess rights and capabilities to re-configure remotely other mobileterminals or application settings. Moreover, the remote controlmechanism 98 may “capture” a mobile terminal's user interface (UI) thatrequires configuration. For example, the remote user may use his or hermobile terminal to cross over to the mobile terminal of the user havinga configuration problem in order to access the mobile terminal andconfigure the applications.

FIG. 8 depicts a flowchart of a method for remotely accessing andmanaging applications within a social network according to oneembodiment of the present invention. A user of a first mobile terminalthat requires assistance with configuring one or more applicationswithin the social network may submit a request for assistance to membersof the social network (block 132), such as by publishing a request toall members within the social network or requesting assistance fromspecific members. One or more members within the social network may thenrequest or otherwise respond to assist the user of the first mobileterminal (block 134). Before allowing remote access to the first mobileterminal, it is first determined whether the member has access rights todo so (block 136). If access rights exist, the user of the second mobileterminal may remotely connect to and access the first mobile terminal(block 138) and may configure the applications that the user of thefirst mobile terminal requested assistance with (block 140).

FIGS. 4, 6, and 8 are flowcharts of systems, methods, and programproducts according to exemplary embodiments of the invention. It will beunderstood that each block or step of the flowcharts, and combinationsof blocks in the flowcharts, can be implemented by various means, suchas hardware, firmware, and/or software including one or more computerprogram instructions. For example, one or more of the proceduresdescribed above may be embodied by computer program instructions. Inthis regard, the computer program instructions which embody theprocedures described above may be stored by a memory device of themobile terminal and executed by a built-in processor in the mobileterminal. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructionsmay be loaded onto a computer or other programmable apparatus (i.e.,hardware) to produce a machine, such that the instructions which executeon the computer or other programmable apparatus create means forimplementing the functions specified in the flowcharts block(s) orstep(s). These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that theinstructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an articleof manufacture including instruction means which implement the functionspecified in the flowcharts block(s) or step(s). The computer programinstructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmableapparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus to produce acomputer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute onthe computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps forimplementing the functions specified in the flowcharts block(s) orstep(s).

Accordingly, blocks or steps of the flowcharts support combinations ofmeans for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps forperforming the specified functions and program instruction means forperforming the specified functions. It will also be understood that oneor more blocks or steps of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks orsteps in the flowcharts, can be implemented by special purposehardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions orsteps, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computerinstructions.

The above described functions may be carried out in many ways. Forexample, any suitable means for carrying out each of the functionsdescribed above may be employed to carry out embodiments of theinvention. In one embodiment, all or a portion of the elements of theinvention generally operate under control of a computer program product.The computer program product for performing the methods of embodimentsof the invention includes a computer-readable storage medium, such asthe non-volatile storage medium, and computer-readable program codeportions, such as a series of computer instructions, embodied in thecomputer-readable storage medium.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseembodiments pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specificembodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments areintended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a genericand descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A method comprising: determining to detect at least one eventrelating to information associated with at least one service, at leastone application, or a combination thereof within a social network;determining to modify the information associated with the at least oneservice, the at least one application, or a combination thereof inresponse to the at least one event; determining to configure a userterminal based upon the modified information for sharing the at leastone service, at least one application, or a combination thereof with oneor more other user terminals in the social network; and determining tofacilitate access to the at least one service, at least one application,or a combination thereof via the user terminal by the one or more otheruser terminals, wherein the at least one event involves configuring oneor more social relationships, one or more access rights, or acombination thereof associated with the user terminal and the one ormore other user terminals.
 2. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: determining to define a degree of separation for the one ormore social relationships; and determining to configure the one or moreaccess rights according to the degree of separation.
 3. A methodaccording to claim 2, further comprising: determining to submit one ormore access requests to create, delete, or update the one or more accessrights based on the degree of separation.
 4. A method according to claim2, further comprising: determining to detect at least one event relatingto configuring at least one of access rights between user accountsassociated with the at least one service, the at least one application,or a combination thereof; and determining to configure or modify accessrights between the user accounts associated with at least one otherservice, at least one other application, or a combination thereof, inresponse to the at least one event.
 5. A method according to claim 1,further comprising: determining to authenticate access requests by theone or more other user terminals at the user terminal; determining totransmit one or more authenticated access requests to the at least oneservice; and determining to forward one or more responses to theauthenticated access requests from the at least one service to the oneor more other user terminals.
 6. A method according to claim 1, furthercomprising: determining to create a configuration repository when thesocial network is formed; and determining to store configurationinformation of the at least one application, one or more applications onthe user terminal, one or more applications available within the socialnetwork, or a combination thereof.
 7. A method according to claim 6,further comprising: parsing at least a portion of the collectedconfiguration information; and configuring the at least applicationusing the parsed configuration information.
 8. A computer-readablestorage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or moreinstructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause anapparatus to at least perform the following steps: determining to detectat least one event relating to information associated with at least oneservice, at least one application, or a combination thereof within asocial network; determining to modify the information associated withthe at least one service, the at least one application, or a combinationthereof in response to the at least one event; determining to configurea user terminal based upon the modified information for sharing the atleast one service, at least one application, or a combination thereofwith one or more other user terminals in the social network; anddetermining to facilitate access to the at least one service, at leastone application, or a combination thereof via the user terminal by theone or more other user terminals, wherein the at least one eventinvolves configuring one or more social relationships, one or moreaccess rights, or a combination thereof associated with the userterminal and the one or more other user terminals.
 9. Acomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 8, wherein theapparatus is further caused to perform: determining to define a degreeof separation for the one or more social relationships; and determiningto configure the one or more access rights according to the degree ofseparation.
 10. A computer-readable storage medium according to claim 9,wherein the apparatus is further caused to perform: determining tosubmit one or more access requests to create, delete, or update the oneor more access rights based on the degree of separation.
 11. Acomputer-readable storage medium according to claim 9, wherein theapparatus is further caused to perform: determining to detect at leastone event relating to configuring at least one of access rights betweenuser accounts associated with the at least one service, the at least oneapplication, or a combination thereof; and determining to configure ormodify access rights between the user accounts associated with at leastone other service, at least one other application, or a combinationthereof, in response to the at least one event.
 12. A computer-readablestorage medium according to claim 8, wherein the apparatus is furthercaused to perform: determining to authenticate access requests by theone or more other user terminals at the user terminal; determining totransmit one or more authenticated access requests to the at least oneservice; and determining to forward one or more responses to theauthenticated access requests from the at least one service to the oneor more other user terminals.
 13. A computer-readable storage mediumaccording to claim 8, wherein the apparatus is further caused toperform: determining to create a configuration repository when thesocial network is formed; and determining to store configurationinformation of the at least one application, one or more applications onthe user terminal, one or more applications available within the socialnetwork, or a combination thereof.
 14. A computer-readable storagemedium according to claim 13, wherein the apparatus is further caused toperform: parsing at least a portion of the collected configurationinformation; and configuring the at least application using the parsedconfiguration information.
 15. An apparatus comprising: at least oneprocessor; and at least one memory including computer program code forone or more programs, the at least one memory and the computer programcode configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatusto perform at least the following, determine to detect at least oneevent relating to information associated with at least one service, atleast one application, or a combination thereof within a social network;determine to modify the information associated with the at least oneservice, the at least one application, or a combination thereof inresponse to the at least one event; determine to configure a userterminal based upon the modified information for sharing the at leastone service, at least one application, or a combination thereof with oneor more other user terminals in the social network; and determine tofacilitate access to the at least one service, at least one application,or a combination thereof via the user terminal by the one or more otheruser terminals, wherein the at least one event involves configuring oneor more social relationships, one or more access rights, or acombination thereof associated with the user terminal and the one ormore other user terminals.
 16. An apparatus according to claim 15,wherein the apparatus is further caused to: determine to define a degreeof separation for the one or more social relationships; and determine toconfigure the one or more access rights according to the degree ofseparation.
 17. An apparatus according to claim 16, wherein theapparatus is further caused to: determine to submit one or more accessrequests to create, delete, or update the one or more access rightsbased on the degree of separation.
 18. An apparatus according to claim16, wherein the apparatus is further caused to: determine to detect atleast one event relating to configuring at least one of access rightsbetween user accounts associated with the at least one service, the atleast one application, or a combination thereof; and determine toconfigure or modify access rights between the user accounts associatedwith at least one other service, at least one other application, or acombination thereof, in response to the at least one event.
 19. Anapparatus according to claim 15, wherein the apparatus is further causedto: determine to authenticate access requests by the one or more otheruser terminals at the user terminal; determine to transmit one or moreauthenticated access requests to the at least one service; and determineto forward one or more responses to the authenticated access requestsfrom the at least one service to the one or more other user terminals.20. An apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the apparatus is furthercaused to: determine to create a configuration repository when thesocial network is formed; and determine to store configurationinformation of the at least one application, one or more applications onthe user terminal, one or more applications available within the socialnetwork, or a combination thereof.
 21. An apparatus according to claim15, wherein the apparatus is further caused to: parsing at least aportion of the collected configuration information; and configuring theat least application using the parsed configuration information.
 22. Asystem comprising: a user terminal configured to detect at least oneevent relating to information associated with at least one service, atleast one application, or a combination thereof within a social network;and the user terminal is also configured to receive the modifiedinformation, to configure the user terminal based upon the modifiedinformation for sharing the at least one service, at least oneapplication, or a combination thereof with one or more other userterminals in the social network, and to facilitate access to the atleast one service, at least one application, or a combination thereofvia the user terminal by the one or more other user terminals, whereinthe at least one event involves configuring one or more socialrelationships, one or more access rights, or a combination thereofassociated with the user terminal and the one or more other userterminals; and a server configured to receive the information, to modifythe information associated with the at least one service, the at leastone application, or a combination thereof in response to the at leastone event, and to transmit the modified information to the userterminal.
 23. A method comprising facilitating a processing of and/orprocessing (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least onesignal, the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least onesignal based, at least in part, on the following: at least onedetermination to detect at least one event relating to informationassociated with at least one service, at least one application, or acombination thereof within a social network; at least one determinationto modify the information associated with the at least one service, atleast one application in response to the at least one event; at leastone determination to configure a user terminal based upon the modifiedinformation for sharing the at least one service, at least oneapplication, or a combination thereof with one or more other userterminals in the social network; and at least one determination tofacilitate access to the at least one service, at least one application,or a combination thereof via the user terminal by one or more other userterminals, wherein the at least one event involves configuring ormodifying one or more social relationships, one or more access rights,or a combination thereof associated with the user terminal and the oneor more other user terminals.
 24. A method of claim 23, wherein the (1)data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least one signal are furtherbased, at least in part, on the following: at least one determination todefine a degree of separation for the one or more social relationships;and at least one determination to configure the one or more accessrights according to the degree of separation.
 25. A method of claim 24,wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) at least onesignal are further based, at least in part, on the following: at leastone determination to submit one or more access requests to create,delete, or update the one or more access rights based on the degree ofseparation.
 26. A method of claim 24, wherein the (1) data and/or (2)information and/or (3) at least one signal are further based, at leastin part, on the following: at least one determination to detect at leastone event relating to configuring at least one of access rights betweenuser accounts associated with the at least one service, the at least oneapplication, or a combination thereof; and at least one determination toconfigure or modify access rights between the user accounts associatedwith at least one other service, at least one other application, or acombination thereof, in response to the at least one event.
 27. A methodof claim 23, wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) atleast one signal are further based, at least in part, on the following:at least one determination to authenticate access requests by the one ormore other user terminals at the user terminal; at least onedetermination to transmit one or more authenticated access requests tothe at least one service; and at least one determination to forward oneor more responses to the authenticated access requests from the at leastone service to the one or more other user terminals.
 28. A method ofclaim 23, wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) atleast one signal are further based, at least in part, on the following:at least one determination to create a configuration repository when thesocial network is formed; and at least one determination to storeconfiguration information of the at least one application, one or moreapplications on the user terminal, one or more applications availablewithin the social network, or a combination thereof.
 29. A method ofclaim 28, wherein the (1) data and/or (2) information and/or (3) atleast one signal are further based, at least in part, on the following:at least one determination to parse at least a portion of the collectedconfiguration information; and at least one determination to configurethe at least application using the parsed configuration information.